Maya Angelou, Poet and Author, Dies at Age 86

Maya Angelou, the poet and author known and cherished by readers of her poems and seven memoirs, has passed away at her home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She was 86.

Given Angelou’s almost unparalleled place in American literature, it is not surprising that the many she mentored and inspired immediately took to the Internet to share tributes to their hero. “My dear dear mentor who saw me through so much,” tweeted Melissa Harris-Perry. “Who will light our path without you? Rest in Peace Dr Angelou.”

Angelou was born in 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri. Her 1969 memoir, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, told the story of the early years of her life, ending when she gave birth at the age of 16. That book, and the many Angelou works that followed it, offered uncompromising looks at life in the Jim Crow South. She was also, among other occupations, San Francisco’s first black streetcar conductor, having received the job after sitting in the application office every day for two weeks.

Dr. Maya Angelou passed quietly in her home before 8:00 a.m. EST. Her family is extremely grateful that her ascension was not belabored by a loss of acuity or comprehension. She lived a life as a teacher, activist, artist and human being. She was a warrior for equality, tolerance and peace. The family is extremely appreciative of the time we had with her and we know that she is looking down upon us with love.

“Listen to yourself and in that quietude you might hear the voice of God,” reads Angelou’s final tweet, posted five days ago.